Read the Bible

¹ "Now, Job, listen to me.
    Listen carefully to what I say.
² I am ready to speak.
³ My heart is honest, so my words are sincere.
    I will speak the truth about what I know.
⁴ God's Spirit made me.
    My life comes from God All-Powerful.
⁵ Listen to me and answer if you can.
    Get your arguments ready to face me.
⁶ You and I are the same before God.
    He used clay to make us both.
⁷ Don't be afraid of me.
    I will not be hard on you.

⁸ "But, Job, I heard what you said.
    These were your very words:
⁹ ‘I am pure and innocent;
    I did nothing wrong; I am not guilty!
¹⁰ But God found an excuse to attack me.
    He treats me like an enemy.
¹¹ He put chains on my feet
    and watches everything I do.'

¹² "But you are wrong about this, and I will prove it to you.
    God knows more than any of us.^[a]
13 You are arguing with God!
    Why do you think he should explain everything to you?
¹⁴ But maybe God does explain what he does
    but speaks in ways that people don't understand.
¹⁵ He may speak in a dream, or in a vision at night,
    when people are in a deep sleep lying in their beds.
¹⁶ He may whisper something in their ear,
    and they are frightened when they hear his warnings.
¹⁷ God warns people to stop them from doing wrong
    and to keep them from becoming proud.
¹⁸ He does this to save them from death.^[b]
    He wants to keep them from being destroyed.

¹⁹ "Or those who are sick in bed might be suffering punishment from God.
    The pain that makes their bones ache might be a warning from him.
²⁰ They feel so bad they cannot eat.
    Even the best food makes them sick.
²¹ Their bodies might waste away until they become thin
    and all their bones stick out.
²² They might be close to death,
    their lives about to end.
²³ But maybe one of God's thousands of angels is watching over them,
    to speak for them and tell about the good things they have done.
²⁴ Maybe the angel will be kind and say to God,
    ‘Save this one from the place of death!
    I have found a way to pay for his life.'
²⁵ Then that person's body will become young and strong again.
    He will be as he was when he was young.
²⁶ He will pray and God will answer.
    He will worship God and shout with joy.
    He will again stand as right before God.
²⁷ He will tell everyone, ‘I sinned.
    I changed good into bad,
    but God didn't give me the punishment I deserved!
²⁸ God saved me from going down to the place of death.
    Now I can enjoy life again.'

²⁹ "God does all these things for people again and again.
³⁰ He wants them to be saved from death
    so that they can enjoy life.

³¹ "Job, pay attention and listen to me.
    Be quiet and let me talk.
³² But if you have an answer, go ahead and speak.
    Tell me your argument.
    I would be happy to know that you are innocent!
³³ But if you have nothing to say, then listen to me.
    Be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom."